Poem on April 29 The best thing I could dofor myself this morning: spin Scary Monstersin the empty classroom before the students arrived,timing “Ashes to Ashes” and “Fashion” just for the moment as the first group of kids came throughthe doors of A-9.That was a good way to begin. What has felt like a weekofContinue reading “#402: Poem on April 29, 2021”
Category Archives: Education
#399: Poem on April 26, 2021
Remember that nightmare I had about distance learning? Poem #398 for easy reference. Well, that nightmare, or some version of it, was a lived experience for me on my first day back to school for hybrid learning. So here’s a poem on that occasion, unfortunately this time, not a dream but a reality. The kidsContinue reading “#399: Poem on April 26, 2021”
#388: Poem on April 14, 2021
Poem on April 14 I try to imagine how it will go. Let’s say I’ve got 15 or 20 studentsin the classroom with me. Let’s say I have another 5 to 10students who are still at homebut who would like to partakein the classroom happenings. They call this a simulcast. What it really means, IContinue reading “#388: Poem on April 14, 2021”
#387: Poem on April 13, 2021
Some new habits have already fallen away. For example, I think I went three days in a row without a preamble. Either I found it unnecessary (as it actually should be with poetry), or I just ran out of time or energy or both. But I continue with the continuity of titles or the lackContinue reading “#387: Poem on April 13, 2021”
A Journal of the Plague Year: #24
September 15, 2020 Yesterday was the first official day of school for students in my district, the first time in my 32 year career that the school year would open with distance learning on account of a viral pandemic, and, as it turns out, the first time in my 32 year career that school wouldContinue reading “A Journal of the Plague Year: #24”
Journal of the Plague Year: #20
As a high school English teacher, I believe that on Friday, June 12, 2020, I experienced the strangest last day of school in the history of last school days. I mean, on the surface, it was somewhat unremarkable. I got out of bed at 8:30 a.m., took a shower, didn’t shave, moseyed on downstairs inContinue reading “Journal of the Plague Year: #20”
A Journal of the Plague Year: #18
It’s been almost two full months since my last entry in A Journal of the Plague Year, although, as part of National Poetry Writing Month I wrote 30 poems, many of which were, by their nature and subject matter, a continuation of the journal in another form. During the month of May I took aContinue reading “A Journal of the Plague Year: #18”
#367: For Its Own Sake
Here’s a question. What motivates a person to do a thing, especially a thing that is purported to be good for a person–let’s say, eat right, exercise, learn an instrument, learn an instrument well, dance, sing, paint, or act well, and while we’re at it, add into the mix all the academic endeavors: write well, readContinue reading “#367: For Its Own Sake”
A Journal of the Plague Year: #17
Most importantly, I will not be able to BE with my seniors in IB English, not even remotely. I won’t see their faces, hear their voices, read their writing, laugh at their good humor, be in awe of their intelligence and kindness. But additionally, I will not be able to formally finish the Hamlet unitContinue reading “A Journal of the Plague Year: #17”
A Journal of the Plague Year: #16
We saw it coming. In fact, it’s not at all surprising. Nevertheless, I was surprised (!) to hear our governor’s announcement today that schools would remain closed until the end of the year. Distance Learning would be the modality that would take us through to the end. What I found most distressing in this news–andContinue reading “A Journal of the Plague Year: #16”
michael jarmer 